America's most prominent pro-gun activist has urged the country's shooters to
fight efforts by President Barack Obama to make the US "like England"
with tougher laws regulating firearms.

Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association (NRA), warned gun enthusiasts that Mr Obama's plans for an assault weapons ban and background checks would make them pariahs.

"We don't want America to become like England, where some of that nation's outstanding rifle competitors keep their hobby a dark secret from their neighbours for fear of social disapproval," said Mr LaPierre. "We're not going to let the anti-gunners push us into that zone."

His remarks, in an article for The Daily Caller website, were sharply rejected as "absolute rubbish" by Phil Scanlan, the performance director for British Shooting, the national gun sports organisation.

"Of course you have to go through a series of checks to obtain a licence," Mr Scanlan told The Daily Telegraph. "But if you want a gun for legitimate sporting purposes there are no real barriers."

Mr Scanlan pointed to last summer's London Olympics – where Briton Peter Wilson won gold in the double trap, and "shooting events were sold out every day" – as proof of healthy gun-sports culture.